VolitionRx Ltd (NYSE:VNRX) has proved its technology's diagnostic potential outside cancer - as it reported positive findings in a pilot study looking at a deadly lung disease.
The study showed its NuQ blood test detected 86% of subjects with the deadly lung disease Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
The cause of this disease is unknown and it is characterised by scarring of the lungs, leaving the patent unable to absorb oxygen. It is often fatal.
In the USA, around 100,000 people are currently affected by IPF, with around 30-40,000 new cases reported each year.
In the clinical study with Liège University Hospital in Belgium involving 78 subjects, analysis of initial data showed the NuQ biomarker assay detected 86% of non-treated IPF patients (18 of 21) from the healthy subjects with only 6 false positives (80% specificity).
VolitionRx's tests are based on the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream – an indication that cancer is present.
VolitionRx's chief scientific officer Dr Jake Micallef said: "Some NuQ biomarker assays are particularly appropriate for the detection of inflammatory diseases such as IPF.
"To have achieved such impressive accuracy for detecting IPF using only a single such NuQ biomarker assay in this pilot study is very encouraging.
"Our next step will be to work on a larger study sample and to include additional NuQ biomarker assays to form a panel blood test that could have even greater accuracy."
Chief executive Cameron Reynolds noted that recent results showed panels of NuQ biomarker assays could detect colorectal, lung and pancreatic cancers with more than 90% accuracy.
"We believe that the success of this pilot study for IPF demonstrates the potential of our Nucleosomics technology as a diagnostic platform for a broad range of diseases and establishes a lucrative potential new market for VolitionRx.
"Moreover, we are excited that our non-invasive blood tests may assist in creating better outcomes for patients with this deadly disease."